MEASURING SOCIAL INCLUSION OF YOUTH IN THE FEDERATION OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

From a youth perspective, social inclusion is commonly defined as the process of individual's self-realisation within a society and recognition by the society of one's potential and contribution (manifested through study, volunteering and other forms of participation). Since social inclusion is a multidimensional concept, establishing appropriate measure needs to be approached from various angles. The purpose of this study is to explain determining factors of social inclusion of youth in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH). This is a quantitative study, where we use an established Social Inclusion Scale (SIS) developed by Secker et al. (2009) to measure social inclusion of youth in the FBiH. Therefore, the study also aims to validate the SIS in a sample of graduate students where we use non-probability sampling methods. To gain better understanding of the factors that determine the most the social inclusion of youth in the FBiH we use descriptive statistics, Cronbach's Alpha and partial confirmatory factor analysis. Implications of this study suggest that social inclusion of youth in the FBiH is affected by their level of social isolation, social relations and social acceptance. The results of this study could be a solid starting point for government decision makers in the FBiH in the process of creation economic and social policies.